Science & Technology
Pertanika J. Sci. & Technol. 26 (1): 95 - 120 (2018) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Journal homepage: http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/ Distributions, Composition Patterns, Sources and Potential Toxicity of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Pollution in Surface Sediments from the Kim Kim River and Segget River, Peninsula Malaysia Mehrzad Keshavarzifard1,2*, Mohamad Pauzi Zakaria3, Shahin Keshavarzifard4 and Reza Sharifi2 1Environmental Forensics Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 2Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71454, Iran 3Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 UM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 4Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran ABSTRACT This study investigated distributions, composition patterns, sources and potential toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) pollution in surface sediments from the Kim Kim River and Segget River, Peninsular Malaysia. The samples were extracted using Soxhlet extraction, purified using two-step silica gel column chromatography and then analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The total PAH concentrations ranged from 95.17 to 361.24 ng g-1 dry weight (dw) and 330.09 to 552.76 ng g-1 dw in surface sediments from the Kim Kim and Segget Rivers, respectively. Source type identification using PAH molecular indices and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) indicated that PAHs were mostly of pyrogenic origin, while in some stations petrogenic sources had a significant portion. A PAH toxicity assessment using sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), mean effect range-median quotient (M-ERM-Q), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) equivalent concentration and BaP toxicity equivalent quotient (TEQcarc) indicated low probability of toxicity for both the Kim Kim and Segget Rivers.
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